Middle progenitor of the Suwon Baek clan (said to have been a captain in late Silla, posthumously raised to general)
| Era | 신라 말~고려 초 |
| Clan | 수원 백씨 |
Baek Chang-jik (白昌稷) is the middle progenitor of the Suwon Baek clan. Korean Wikipedia says he is traditionally recorded as a captain (jungnangjang) under King Gyeongmyeong of Silla and posthumously raised to general (sanggunggun). Because the line after the founder Baek U-gyeong is unclear, descendants count the generations of the clan's common generation-name scheme from him as the first generation.
The genealogy after Baek Chang-jik is itself unclear. The same source says that the deeds of later figures such as Baek Hwi and Baek Cheon-jang cannot be confirmed. The Sejong sillok jiriji (1454) is said to record the Suwon Baek as having come from Gaeseong, and the later figures with continuous lineages are mostly found from early Joseon onward.
This long gap after the middle progenitor is one reason given for the clan having split into many branches, each venerating its own ancestor; the many branches whose founders lived in late Goryeo, such as Seonjeong-gong and Jeongsinjae-gong, fit this picture.
The Suwon Baek are introduced as using a common generation-name scheme counted from Baek Chang-jik as the first generation: 師 (23rd), 東 (24th), 鎭 (25th), 洙 (26th), 樂 (27th), 南 (28th), and so on. Branches may use different schemes, so compare with your own genealogy.
Sources on the middle progenitor are limited to Korean Wikipedia and genealogical works; his dates, grave, spouse and children could not be confirmed. Because he is placed in late Silla by some sources and early Goryeo by others, this text gives late Silla to early Goryeo.
His descendants count the clan's generation-name scheme taking him as the first generation.